Options for DLHS Fine Arts Center considered

Plans are in place to bring new fine arts facilities to Devils Lake High School.

By Joe MellenbruchJournal Reporter@Journal_Joe

A cafeteria is no place for an orchestra concert.

At Devils Lake High School, it is the unfortunate reality to bear without suitable fine arts facilities. But that could change in the near future.

The Devils Lake Fine Arts Committee addressed this quandry on Wednesday night, Sept. 11 when they met to discuss plans for a new Fine Arts Center at the high school.

Roughly 15 people attended the meeting, including a host of music teachers, principal architect Timothy Zerr and Devils Lake High School principal Ryan Hansen. Those in attendance were presented four different design options, all of which fall within a specific budget and a specific sqaure-footage range, and one of the four sketches was unanimously accepted by the committee.

Now, the next step is to present all options to the school borad, which convenes on Monday, Sept. 23.Hansen has been with the school for a number of years, and, according to him, this project has been on his mind for a while.

"It's been in discussion for about a year," he said. "The board recently gave the go ahead to start with the architecture, to find out much it would actually cost."

Funding for the new fine arts center is an issue that will certainly need addressing, but according to Hansen, funds are already being gathered.

A fund has already been set aside for the fine arts center, to which private donors have been donating and are further encouraged to donate.

The primary motivation behind such a project is simple: the best schools often have good fine arts facilities to offer their students, and that is something that Hansen wants to have at his high school.

"Right now, most of our major events would be over at the college," Hansen said. "We have no stage, and if you look at the Class-A schools, which are the biggest schools in the state, we're one of only two or three that don't have that.

"But if you look at what we already have here: the football field, the sports center, the hockey arena, adding this center could make this a very attractive school for parents to send their kids to."

The school board will discuss the further development of this facility in their next meeting. Stay posted to the Journal for any new developments with this story.